Ning Yanfan was a very approachable person.

His temperament was infinitely better than Mao Kangshan’s.

If Mao Kangshan had made this call, it would have devolved into shouting.

But shouting couldn’t solve problems and would only create ill feelings toward his young disciple. Mao Kangshan held back, letting Ning Yanfan handle this matter.

Ning Yanfan was more diplomatic and better at handling such situations. That’s why during the Cultural Revolution, Ning Yanfan surprisingly didn’t suffer much while Mao Kangshan had an especially unfortunate time.

Being diplomatic, when Ning Yanfan called AIA headquarters and reasonably requested to speak with the review panel chairman, he got through.

Ning Yanfan’s message was similar to Huaqing University’s protest letter.

But his attitude was more serious and firm, his demands clearer and more direct.

“…The Chinese Architecture Association absolutely cannot tolerate this. Though our international influence may be limited, China has a billion people, and we have no shortage of architects, with more to come!”

“Ning, there’s no need for this. I think there must be some misunderstanding.”

While AIA wanted to suppress the matter, Ning Yanfan wasn’t afraid to escalate it.

If truly forced to publicly condemn AIA internationally, the Chinese Architecture Association would have to stand firm and refuse to back down.

Would such an approach work?

If Lisa won the lawsuit, yes.

AIA could use the court’s result to ignore Cornell Architecture School’s protest, dismiss Huaqing University and the Chinese Architecture Association, and then thoroughly criticize GMP’s Kissinger, establishing their industry authority.

Why was AIA hesitating?

With so many speaking up, they couldn’t all be blindly supporting Xia Xiaolan. After learning about her history with Mrs. Dawson, smart people at AIA headquarters had begun to suspect the most likely truth – the theater renovation plan truly belonged to Xia Xiaolan.

Even if she was just a 22-year-old undergraduate student, they couldn’t deny she might be an architectural genius.

If so, Xia Xiaolan’s chances of winning the lawsuit were even greater.

If Lisa lost, how could AIA maintain its hard stance?

Unsure whether Ning Yanfan was recording the call, the review panel chairman spoke very subtly, hinting that AIA was willing to negotiate… offering some compensation and concessions.

Did Xia Xiaolan need such compensation and concessions?

Without even asking Xia Xiaolan herself, Ning Yanfan could make that judgment for her.

No!

Vaguely glossing over this matter, saving face for Monde Dawson and AIA, letting only Lisa pay the price – this wasn’t what Xia Xiaolan wanted.

If they suppressed this now, what would happen when Xia Xiaolan reached a certain height and people questioned this incident again?

Favorable scoring?

No, Xia Xiaolan didn’t need that.

If her work was brilliant enough, AIA couldn’t possibly ignore her in the Rising Star Architect selection. She didn’t need such scoring advantages.

Even if AIA developed ill feelings toward Xia Xiaolan and excluded her from all future awards, what did it matter?

At least Xia Xiaolan’s reputation would remain clean!

If AIA didn’t favor her, once her brilliance transcended gender and nationality limitations, other international awards would naturally extend olive branches to Xia Xiaolan-

“That’s impossible. We demand clarity. AIA can choose to shield certain individuals or prove their fairness. Mr. Chairman, as Executive Director of the Chinese Architecture Association, I suggest one approach that could both preserve AIA’s face and restore Xia Xiaolan’s reputation. I hope you’ll consider it.”

Ning Yanfan explained about the museum.

Let AIA send people to supervise the entire process, witnessing Xia Xiaolan’s architectural design capabilities firsthand.

“A museum? You’re letting her design a museum?!”

Perhaps Xia Xiaolan was related to the Chinese Architecture Association’s chairman – that would explain Director Ning’s madness.

Ning Yanfan corrected him:

“The Chinese Architecture Association wouldn’t entrust a museum to such a young newcomer. We don’t have that authority – this is the client’s choice. The client’s trust is more convincing than a judge’s ruling!”

Ning Yanfan spoke the plain truth, leaving the AIA review panel chairman speechless.

“May I ask, what scale of museum is this?”

If they just built a small building somewhere and called it a museum, sending AIA representatives to China would be laughable.

“Located in a provincial capital’s center, privately funded, with an estimated cost of 20 million yuan. I believe for a 22-year-old newcomer architect, it’s not a particularly small project.”

20 million yuan – the chairman consulted his secretary about China’s official exchange rate: over 5 million dollars.

Of course, no one would exchange 5 million dollars for 20 million yuan – yuan had no purchasing power internationally, not being an international settlement currency.

But within China, 20 million yuan still held significant purchasing power.

In other words, Xia Xiaolan would lead the design and construction of a private museum with a 5-million-dollar budget.

The review panel chairman now believed this wasn’t work arranged by the Chinese Architecture Association – even AIA couldn’t spend 5 million dollars to support an association architect. A client who could provide such funding wasn’t someone to be easily fooled.

“We need to discuss this matter in a meeting.”

Ning Yanfan remained noncommittal, “Better make it quick then. If the discussion takes too long and that shameless thief loses the lawsuit before AIA responds, everything’s over, right? It would be even harder for AIA to restore its image of fairness.”

Regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome, Ning Yanfan’s words exuded confidence, making the review panel chairman uneasy.

After hanging up, the chairman was agitated.

“Please ask Mr. Monde to come to headquarters. Yes, I need to see Mr. Monde.”

During Ning Yanfan’s call, he didn’t exclude Xia Xiaolan, specifically calling her to listen – perhaps another form of guidance.

“Pressure builds layer by layer.”

“AIA doesn’t care about one person’s protest, not even a GMP New York office partner’s. They received the first protest letter but wouldn’t take it seriously.”

“Your protest letter was the first wave, a small surge hitting AIA – they stood unmoved, unfazed.”

Xia Xiaolan continued Ning Yanfan’s metaphor:

“Cornell Architecture School’s professors speaking for me was the second wave. Cornell has America’s best undergraduate architecture program, producing Pritzker Architecture Prize winners like Monde Dawson and many other outstanding alumni. AIA recruits America’s excellent architects as members – Monde Dawson isn’t their only Cornell alumnus. The second wave made AIA unable to ignore this… If Cornell Architecture School professors’ words aren’t trusted, wouldn’t all AIA members who graduated from Cornell be embarrassed?”